Or Maybe It's Just Us
by Zendeh
Summary: "Graduation isn't the worst thing to have happened to either one of them but it might slowly creeping up there or at least in Dick's opinion ." Revelation prompt for the Takeover. Based off of the same headcanon as Pachowable's fics, Stuck and Someday, also written for the Takeover.


**Title**: Title (optional) or, Plans Don't Generally Work Out The Way You Want Them To (or maybe it's just us)  
**Characters: **Dick Grayson, Artemis Crock, the Team (mentioned)  
**Pairing:** Traught  
**Prompt:** Revelation for the Takeover  
**Word Count: **2,700+ words.  
**Summary: **"Graduation isn't the worst thing to have happened to either one of them but it might slowly creeping up there (or at least in Dick's opinion)."  
**Additional Notes: **Coincidentally based off of the same headcanon that Pachowable fic'ed called Stuck. Check it out! Paz's a doll.

* * *

Dick had gotten attached to Artemis.

He didn't realize it until the day of her graduation. He had arrived at school with a giant bouquet of flowers in hand and then, when she rejected them, as he suspected he brought out her favorite emergency Artemis-is-mad-at-me chocolates. Those she accepted, if warily because while Dick was a giving boy, he was also a troll and could not be trusted. (But they were her favorites and thus definitely worth the risk of pranking so she sneaked a couple in her mouth before the ceremony when she thought Dick wasn't looking, futile because Dick was always looking)

It wasn't until the valedictorian was giving the send-off speech that he realized that this was it, his best friend was leaving. He was getting gradually more and more upset on the inside as the speech went on, having to confront all of the ways he'd miss his favorite blonde at school. There would be no more study dates (she wouldn't call them by the same name. She'd refer to them as business meetings and they, coworkers). There wouldn't be any more interrogations about how he's in all of her classes ("I swear, this time it wasn't me!" Bruce had done it that time, already accepting of the fact that his son would prefer to be with his teammate as much as possible). There wouldn't be any more lunch periods where the lunch she'd hastily put together that morning would disappear from her locker and he'd just so happen to have an extra lunch, courtesy of one Alfred.

There would be no more sneaking up on her at her locker or appearing behind her while the next bonehead steps up to bat to try and hit on her. No more projects with rigged partners. No more going to coffee shops for hot chocolate during finals while she (jokingly) attempts to convince him to use his influence to find out the answers to her Calculus final exam. No more moments or memories away from the team. No more of the things he didn't even realize before that he held dear, that made his days as a normal boy worth it.

By the time the nice girl (Vivian, maybe?) had turned away from the podium, Dick had calmed himself down with that one thought. Yeah, there would be no more memories away from the team. So what, they won't be able to hang out at school anymore. He'd just have to convince Kaldur to pair the non-meta team members up more often, which shouldn't be a hard feat since they trained together most of the time anyway. Dick would have to find more missions for just the two of them which might raise a little suspicion but that didn't matter. He'll figure it out. They'll figure it out. He'll still have his best just won't be wearing their school uniforms (which is actually a shame because it took some effort to get her uniform skirt that respectably short without her finding out it was him).

After the graduates graduated and were free to do as they please, Dick snaked his way through the crowd, closing in on Artemis. He congratulated her and sneaked a kiss on her cheek before her mom came over and crossed his fingers when she made him promise not to make a big deal with their shared friends about her graduation. If you asked Dick, she had to get over her issues. That is exactly why there was a surprise party awaiting at the cave.

After the ceremony they parted ways, he under the pretense of having to be back for a fancy, important dinner back at the manor, she under having to accompany her mom home. He gave her Bruce's best wishes and a hug from Alfred (that may or may not have been more for him) and went back to the manor to change into his uniform. He got to the zeta tubes before her and decided not wait around to troll her at (a usual occurrence that he greatly enjoyed), transporting to Mount Justice to make sure all of the preparations were in order.

It would be a shared party for she and Wally, both having graduated that afternoon. They arrived one after another, all due to some meddling with the tubes, to the yells of the team, the league, and their various allies. Wally basked in the attention while Artemis pretended that she wasn't enjoying it.

The party was top notch, with the best of Alfred's dishes leaving most of the party goers in a food coma of sorts. Right before the cake was cut, people break out the congratulatory gifts. Robin hoped that it would all move along quickly. He wasn'T Wally but he didn't know how long he could resist Alfred's famous chocolate cake with "Congratulations on Making it (Mostly) Alive to your Graduation, Artemis and Wally!" iced on it (his idea, of course).

The cake was cut after everyone gave out their gifts, the pair doing very well in that department (save for the water-balloon incident due to Robin and Red Arrow). Well, almost everyone. Dick had disappeared silently from the party as he was known to do. He had his gift planned out months in advance, a back up one in his room. He had planned to give Artemis a scrapbook with all of the team's favorite memories and, as the cherry on top, on the last page was his favorite memory, the picture, their picture from her first day of school. The girl, to Dick's slight surprise, had yet to figure out the connection between Dick Grayson and Robin and he couldn't wait to see her reaction. He had cleared it with Bruce (but would have given it to her regardless) and now was going to pull her to the side, wait for her to finish her bite of cake (hopefully making the noises she made the first time she tasted Alfred cake).

When he entered the main room again, the scrapbook wrapped up nicely with red paper and a green bow. He was about to call out to his archer when he caught the tail end of the conversation she was engaged in. "...and this was really hard for the both of us to decide but we thought it best if we weren't an active part of the team while we're away at Stanford." The book slipped through his fingers and landed soundly on the floor. For those moments, Dick lost his cool countenance and his shock shone through. He was not aware of this. Not at all. We? What is this we? He stepped all of the way into the room and saw Artemis with Wally's arm around her and his jacket on her shoulders. He saw her lean on him for moral support with the look on her face that she always got when she thought she wasn't sure if she had done something wrong or right. His eyes went over those four things another time, arm, jacket, side, face and then another. Oh. Sometimes he forgot that his best friends were dating each other. They're leaving? Without letting him know?

He picked the gift up from where it had fallen on the ground, deciding that later he would leave it on her pillow in her apartment. Dick left without a word or a piece of cake. He wasn't feeling hungry anymore. He'd talk to Bruce (also later, when he calmed down) about giving the two of them scholarships if he hasn't already done so. It would be their going away gift from the BatFam. He wished that his best friend would be happy with her decision. Who knew? Maybe he'd be able to make some more memories outside of the team and outside the school.

He doubted it though.

* * *

When Artemis got home that night, after she finally pried Wally and a crying M'gann off of her, she was feeling strangely content. The bomb dropping had went surprisingly well. Most were surprised but everyone had come to accept their decision. And why wouldn't they? There was no way to make everyone happy and this was the best option when taking the rest of their lives into consideration.

She hummed to a vaguely familiar song as she checked in with her mom and got ready for bed. She untangled her long hair (Wally had gotten a little carried away with the good bye kiss) and did a mental checklist for the day.

Managed not to trip while crossing the stage at graduation? Check. Returned of everything Gotham Academy? Good riddance. Destruction of everything else Gotham Academy that she owned (except the uniform which Wally begged her to keep, that pervert)? Executed to perfection with Dick, the little brat who somehow had access to most things fire related.

Bette had come back to see her graduate, as would they both would when Babs and Dick graduated the next year. The girls had went for one last milkshake and chatted about Artemis' move to Palo Alto and about what Babs was to do without either one of her big sisters there. There was a suggestion involving Dick but it was laughed off. All in all, the day could be deemed a success. Robin would have been proud of her.

Wait. Robin.

She had completely forgotten about him. In the whirlwind of bomb and dropping attention she still wasn't quite used to and various feelings of accomplishment (she survived the prep school, left the team not in a body bag, managed not to upset M'gann too much, etc.), she had gone and forgotten the Boy Wonder. She wondered what kind of friend that made her as she jogged back to her bedroom. She considered calling him up for a late night apology/celebratory vigilante romp around the city when she noticed something flash in the corner of her eye. She had her crossbow out instantly, ready to defend herself against the idiot that decided to invade her when she realized that there was no threat, only a package. She glanced around surreptitiously, looking for any witnesses to eliminate. She found none, but didn't doubt that Robin didn't somehow know about it.

She threw the phone to her bed and examined the package. It had shiny red paper perfectly wrapped and a bow that she couldn't figure out if she was allowed to like (On one hand, it was her favorite color. On the other, it was almost as obnoxious as the one the GA cheerleaders wore to games). She snatched it off of the bed and was about to shake it angrily for startling her when she noticed the card that was resting happily underneath where the package-no, gift-used. The card used the same color scheme as the gift, red with a green ribbon holding it closed. There was nothing on the front but there didn't need to be. It was left on her bed, not its twin that once and always will belong to her sister. Very few people knew which she slept on and could enter her room and get away with it.

She slid the ribbon off of the card and onto her wrist out of the habit formed with her hair bands. A flick of her fingers and top half flew up from the bottom. A familiar thick, black scrawl was the only thing on the white inside. "For the goddess on her day. - R" Artemis smiled a bittersweet smile. She had forgotten him but he didn't forget her. He never forgot about her. She looked back down at the gift. It had Robin written all over it in red, perfect letters.

She dropped the card onto her lap and tucked her legs underneath her. Any gift given by a bat had to be good. When she called him later, she'd be sure to berate him for not stopping and talking to her at the cave and just maybe give him a hug.

The paper was masterfully wrapped and she hesitated slightly at the thought of destroying said perfection. Then the moment was over and she tore into it. Her fingers almost slipped off of the leather cover from shock. He didn't. He did not. The boy was a bit sentimental at times, but he couldn't be that cliched. She flipped it over. Yes he could. Robin, the Cliched Wonder, got her a scrapbook. He actually got her a scrapbook with a leather cover and the word, "Memories," on the front. She laughed incredulously. Screw the hug, she was going to punch him in the stomach when he got within range.

Still, she flipped through the pages delicately. Each page was like reliving a different memory. Her first team beach excursion. Zantana's official first day. Various movie nights and game tournaments. There was Robin sleeping on Wally and Artemis pinning Robin down and threatening him when he wouldn't disclose the whereabouts of the stuffed animal that had disappeared from her room (it later was revealed that he had taken it home to get the ear on the cat mended. She thanked him with a punch to the stomach and returned her Cheshire Cat to its place under her pillow). Somehow, there were pictures of the first monthly girl's night. Everything from the annual Thanksgiving lunch to the Awkward Valentine's Disaster of last year. If she was a more sentimental girl or maybe raised differently, she'd be close to crying. She couldn't believe that she was leaving these beautiful, wonderful people.

The pages seemed to go on forever until they actually stopped. There was Babs, Bette, and her bonding with milkshakes in the kitchen and then her glaring at Red Arrow. But the last picture surprised her. It was a familiar one that she once saw in Dick's phone when messing around with it and as one of the many desktop backgrounds on his computer. It was her, several years ago on her first day of school when he had sneaked up on her to catch her stunned face on film. It was a day that went wrong in all ways possible but lead to all things right. She recalled Dick's words to her in that moment. "We'll laugh about this someday." He was always that weird though, Barbara and Bette had confirmed that. And she guess they did laugh, after she confronted him about both instances where her face was on a screen of his. You know, after she socked him in one of his shoulders.

She ran her fingers along the edge of the picture, a soft and reminiscent smile on her face. She was about to close the book and call that boy (forget the romp. She was going to interrogate him about how'd he get all of these pictures of her, with emphasis on the girls' night and her in her civvies with her friends) when her fingers caught on a corner of the picture. She sucked lightly at a new paper cut to alleviate the pain as she carefully pried out a small card, the same red as the wrapping paper and the outside card, from underneath the picture. "I told you we'd laugh. - R"

Her fingertip popped out of her mouth when her jaw dropped. What? No, it couldn't be. But the more she thought about it, the more it had to be. Wait. What? Rob's last words to her that night, whispered in her ear after she was surprised at the cave. "Make sure you see me later, 'Mis. I've got a bit of big news for you." She had completely forgotten about his request. What kind of friend was she? What kind of person was she? Was this the news he wanted to give her? But why didn't he give her this at the party? Artemis had a headache coming on and the feeling that she did something wrong crept back into her stomach and up into her throat. She traced Dick's face in the picture, beaming next to her stunned and dazed one.

She decided against calling Robin that night.


End file.
